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PlayStation 5 Pro is out tomorrow: a tour of the best upgrades

Is Sony's more powerful console really worth £700? Here's the evidence

PlayStation 5 Pro is out tomorrow: a tour of the best upgrades

By Andrew Williams

06 November 2024

The PlayStation 5 Pro is out on November 7. If you know one thing about this console upgrade, it’s probably that it costs a small fortune.

You’ll pay £699 for a PS5 Pro, and that’s without the £99.99 disc drive. The good news is this means you can (at the time of writing) still pick one up for the day of release.

But is the PlayStation 5 Pro worth it? We’ve been following this question ever since the console was announced in September.

We’ll show you some of the best videos that demonstrate the kind of visual upgrade you can expect with the PlayStation 5 Pro below, but here’s the rub.

Is the PlayStation 5 Pro worth it?

Can you absolutely feel the difference between 60 frames per second and 30 per second, and start wincing whenever the rate drops? The console is for you.

Are you interested in how ray tracing is going to level-up immersion and realism in console games? You’ll like the PlayStation 5 Pro as well.

However, the smaller your TV is, and the further you sit from it, the less obvious the upgrades are going to be. While this is a bit of a techy marvel, the PS5 Pro isn’t for everyone. And it isn’t meant to be either.

Let’s take a closer look at some of those demos of the PlayStation 5 Pro’s raw power:

Here’s our fave demo, because it comes right from the developer. It’s an Alan Wake 2 showcase from Remedy Entertainment.

It gives you a good idea of how much better reflections will look in some titles, losing the fizziness of the standard PS5’s top graphics mode in this case, while improving realism.

YouTube account Brazil Pixel appears to have gotten hold of a PlayStation 5 Pro slightly early, and has tested a bunch of games, including Elden Ring. This title has not had any new console enhancement (yet) but uses a dynamic resolution system that can suck up that extra power.

It’s not enough for a flawless 60fps performance at 4K, but big gains in ray tracing performance suggests we could see great results if the game gets a proper PS5 Pro patch.

The PlayStation account has posted a video on the enhanced version of Spider-Man 2 for PS5 Pro. While there’s no direct comparison footage in there, the commentary gives you a good idea of what’s going on behind the scenes and is pure eye candy. The game is a great argument for the visual improvement ray traced lighting can bring.

Next up, don’t miss Digital Foundry’s PlayStation 5 Pro content. Its video on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is well worth a look. The tweaked version of the game looks far sharper and more detailed than the original, while the commentary helps keep your expectations realistic.

This is once where you’ll benefit from being able to sit closer to a nice ’n’ big TV.

The Last of Us Part 2 was one of the original games used to show of the PlayStation 5 Pro at its unveil. While the visual upgrade here doesn’t feel essential, this is one that 60fps hounds should like. PS4 architect Mark Cerny even goes as far as to call the non-Pro version of the game “choppy”.

Sony has announced at least 55 games will get an upgrade in time for the launch of the PlayStation 5 Pro. Here's the full list: